HM Treasury

Moldova: Banks

Lord Astor of Hever: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have, if any, to encourage the International Monetary Fund to investigate the loss of funds from Moldova's banking system.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: In May this year, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) sent a mission to Moldova to discuss the domestic authorities’ strategy for financial sector reforms and ensuring the safety and soundness of Moldova’s banks. According to IMF staff, progress was made towards agreement on the need to strengthen governance and tackle non-transparent shareholder structures in banks. Talks are expected to continue in the context of negotiations for an IMF programme to support Moldova, although timings have not yet been set. The Government will continue to monitor developments in Moldova and its interactions with the IMF.

Overseas Loans: Republic of Ireland

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the outcome of the referendum on the UK's membership of the EU, when the Irish Republic will repay the funding it received from the UK as a result of the 2008 financial crisis, and how much is still owed.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: I refer the noble Lord to the most recent statutory report which the Treasury provided to Parliament as required by Section 2 of the Loans to Ireland Act 2010. The last report was laid in Parliament on 26 April 2016 and is available in the Printed Paper Office.The timetable for repayment set out in this report remains unchanged.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Overseas Aid

Baroness Northover: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much the Foreign and Commonwealth Office spent on Overseas Development Assistance between April 2015 and March 2016, and what measures were used to ensure high levels of transparency in how that money was spent.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) was allocated £422.9 million of Official Development Assistance funds to spend in Financial Year 2015-2016. When finalised, the figures will be published on the FCO website and registered on the UK data portal and on the International Aid Transparency Initiative portal.

Overseas Companies: Human Rights

Lord Pendry: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 27 June (HL744), what steps they plan to take if they find British businesses not complying with the UK National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights in countries like Colombia.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: International law does not require states to regulate the extraterritorial activities of their businesses. Individual states are responsible for protecting against and prosecuting human rights and other abuses that are committed within their borders. The United Kingdom is one of few jurisdictions globally where victims of human rights abuses allegedly committed overseas by a British domiciled company can bring a civil case to the UK courts.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Research: Finance

Lord Cromwell: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much EU funding is currently accessible by UK universities and research bodies; and what assessment they have made of the impact of the referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU on (1) such funding in the future, and (2) UK universities’ and research bodies’ ability to develop and sustain world-class research and educational programmes.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The main streams of funds available to UK universities and research bodies are Horizon 2020, Erasmus Plus and aspects of the European Structural and Investment Funds.Under Horizon 2020, the current Framework Programme, the UK has been awarded €1.84bn to date[1] (excluding the Euratom nuclear research and training programme).In 2014, the first year of the Erasmus Plus Programme, the UK obtained €79.08 million for mobility grants to 36,734 people from all educational sectors to study, train and volunteer abroad. A further €30.66m was obtained for cooperation projects[2].The UK’s strategy[3] for its 2014-2020 allocations from the European Structural and Investment Funds sets out that €1.6bn was earmarked for the theme of research, technological development and innovation.As the Prime Minister has made clear, while the UK remains a member of the EU, current EU funding arrangements continue unchanged, including those that apply to students, researchers, and businesses. It will be for the Government under the new Prime Minister to begin the negotiation to leave, and set out arrangements for those currently in receipt of EU funds. The UK economy is fundamentally strong and our research and innovation are world leading. The Government intends to maintain and enhance the strength of our research base. UK participation in H2020 and FP7, BIS occasional (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-participation-in-horizon-2020-and-framework-programme-7)Ref: https://www.britishcouncil.org/organisation/press/british-council-ecorys-uk-delighted-win-erasmus.https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/368808/bis-14-1179-united-kingdom-partnership-agreement-part-one.pdf

Universities

Lord Judd: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what they are doing to preserve and enhance the international character and international standing of British universities and their research.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The Government is determined to ensure that the UK continues to play a leading role in European and international research and innovation. It is promoting the international success of UK universities through bilateral engagement with overseas partners, the Britain is GREAT marketing campaign which has education and science pillars, and through the Chevening and Commonwealth scholarship schemes. For example, in November 2015, the Indian and UK Prime Ministers jointly announced the ‘2016 UK-India Year of Education, Research and Innovation’. This was immediately followed by a major education visit to India, including 28 vice-chancellors to increase higher education partnerships. Programmes such as the UK China Partners in Education programme and the UK India Education Research Initiative bring long term international collaboration. Our international research is being enhanced through the Government’s Newton Fund, a £735 million UK investment matched by partner countries, linking our universities with researchers in 16 major emerging economies. Our Global Challenge Research Fund, £1.5 billion and Ross Fund, £1bn., support universities engaging in global challenges including health, agritech and water research. British universities have a world-class reputation for both education and research. Globally the UK has four universities in the top ten and ten in the top fifty in the QS rankings, a 10% share of the international student recruitment market, and 15.9% per cent of the world’s most highly-cited research articles.